"Schwarzes Café is a Berlin institution synonymous with the glamorous West. It draws an eclectic crowd now, as it did in the '80s when David Bowie and Iggy Pop were regulars. You’ll have to wait to be seated and might even be turned away on a Friday or Saturday night, but this is Berlin—were you even here if you weren’t rejected from somewhere? Once you’re through the neon parrot entrance, head up the staircase and grab a table on the first floor with a dominating disco ball, ornate ceiling, and small balcony that smokers squeeze onto. After decades of famously being a 24-hour spot, the kitchen remains open around the clock on weekends, making the place feel like a time vortex where you can order scrambled eggs at midnight and schnitzel at 10am. It’s cash only, so make sure you bring enough for a few rounds of Gin Basil Smashes and a late-night breakfast." - Olivia Ladanyi
